Mac music notation composer?

February 18, 2008 8:24 AM

SheetMusicFilter: Is there a program on Mac similar to Noteworthy Composer?

Noteworthy is a bare-bones music notation software that plays back as midi that actually lets you input notes onto a staff. In my working with Garage Band, it doesn't work the same way...how can I get a mac-ready program that does the same things as Noteworthy?

Cheap options preferred...I'm not professional, so it's not worth my money to get something too expensive. I just want to take notes from my part of a multi-part chorus number and put them on the screen to play back.

posted by sjuhawk31 to Media & Arts (6 answers total)

If you're not afraid of a little coding, MUP is pretty good. It works along the same lines as LaTeX does for typesetting, in that it takes a coded list of notes and outputs sheet music (and MIDI output as well.) It's full-featured and, best of all, dirt cheap (shareware, with a $30 registration fee to turn off the PRODUCED BY MUP watermarks that it puts on the scores.)
posted by Johnny Assay at 8:42 AM on February 18, 2008 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The free version of Finale, Finale Notepad, should meet your needs. It's pretty much crippled if you want to do anything other than place notes on a staff and play them back within the same software (no MIDI export, etc) but for that one purpose, it's easy and free-as-in-beer.
posted by Alterscape at 8:48 AM on February 18, 2008

Response by poster: Alterscape, will Finale (the full version) export midi?
posted by sjuhawk31 at 9:00 AM on February 18, 2008

Best answer: Actually, it looks like the new free version of Notepad supports MIDI export and import. Great!
posted by sjuhawk31 at 9:10 AM on February 18, 2008

Like MUP (that is to say, not WYSIWYG in any way), but completely free: Lilypond.
posted by Grangousier at 9:29 AM on February 18, 2008

Aria Maestosa! Free, open source, etc. Very easy to use. Frequently updated.
posted by Plug Dub In at 9:39 AM on February 18, 2008 [1 favorite]